Personal interview questions

Personal interview questions help interviewers build rapport with candidates, potentially helping them feel comfortable and speak honestly about their experience. They can also help reveal candidates’ emotional intelligence and soft skills, such as interpersonal communication.

Consider asking the following questions:

1. What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

This question can help you assess a candidate’s self-awareness. Applicants can discuss how their best qualities align with the role’s needs and how they can use their strengths to help the company reach its goals.

The strengths and weaknesses a candidate identifies can help you learn:

• Whether the candidate is self-reflective enough to recognize their weaknesses

• How a candidate is working to improve and refine their skills

• How their areas of expertise could add to your existing teams

Read More: How to Ask and Assess “What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?” in Interviews

2. How would your previous coworkers describe you?

Asking candidates to describe themselves objectively is another approach to learning about their character. It may offer insight into their interpersonal and collaboration skills. As a follow-up to candidates’ responses, consider asking for specific examples of peer feedback to get a more accurate evaluation.

3. Tell me something about yourself that isn’t on your resume.

Resumes are crafted to concisely summarize a job seeker’s professional experience, but you may still have other questions regarding expertise. That’s what makes this one of the top interview questions to ask a candidate.

It’s purposefully vague to allow the candidate to share something professional or personal. How candidates respond to this question and their stories can show hiring managers how they may contribute to the company culture. It may also introduce a new topic of discussion that makes a specific candidate stand out.

4. What are you looking for in your next role that you were missing in your previous role?

Pay close attention to how a candidate talks about their former job, such as whether they focus on the positives and address their hopes for the future. The interviewee’s ability to respect their previous employer and workplace may demonstrate their polite behavior and professionalism, which are essential attributes for most roles.

This question also helps you understand if their expectations match what you can offer, and it can highlight whether they’re motivated by factors like professional development, responsibility, recognition or job satisfaction.

5. What career accomplishment makes you most proud?

While it’s important to find good employees who can do the job well, it can be helpful if they’re also proud of their work. Asking the candidate to share a career highlight can show what fulfills them and may help determine whether their values align with your open role.

Read More: How to Ask About a Candidate’s Greatest Accomplishments (With Downloadable Templates)

Motivational interview questions

Motivational questions help you assess how invested candidates are in the position. These can be good interview questions to ask candidates when assessing their level of commitment and ambition, which may relate to the characteristics needed for the position.

If you’re looking for a self-starter to add to your team, you might ask the following questions.

6. What are your long-term career goals?

Answers to this question can reveal whether the interviewee’s career goals align with your company’s values and mission. This may also be a good opportunity to discuss what professional and career growth looks like within your organization.

7. What areas do you hope to develop or focus on in the coming year?

One of the best interview questions to ask candidates is what their goals are for professional development. A candidate may be focused on improving a weakness, refining a strength or learning a new skill.

8. What made you want to apply for this position?

This question delves into specifics about the job role. It can help you assess:

• How carefully they read the job description

• How well they researched the company

• What they’re looking for in an employer

• The skills they see as relevant for your open position

Consider the parallels applicants draw between your company and their career aspirations.

9. Based on your background, what skills or attributes can you add to this team?

Hiring for culture add means identifying candidates who can bring new ideas and ways of thinking to an existing team. This question can highlight unique attributes that might enhance your workplace.

If your company values creativity and innovation, this may be an effective question to ask during interviews.

10. How would you work toward a promotion in this role?

Forward-thinking applicants with long-term career goals are likely to have an answer to this question. An applicant who can realistically assess the growth required for a promotion may be a good addition to a company that prioritizes upward mobility.

Behavioral interview questions

Asking applicants how they’ve behaved in past circumstances or may behave in future situations can help hiring managers evaluate whether their approach is suitable for the job. Here are a few behavioral interview questions you might ask.

11. Tell me about a difficult work situation you’ve overcome. How did you overcome it?

Challenging circumstances at work typically offer opportunities for growth. While answering this question, candidates can elaborate on their ability to perform under pressure. They might also discuss their problem-solving skills and ability to manage stress at work.

12. Tell me about a time you had a particularly heavy workload. How did you handle it?

Asking this may help determine a candidate’s organizational and time management skills. The best answers may include ways the candidate prioritizes their tasks, adapts to new challenges and works with others to get the job done.

13. Describe a time when you had to work with a colleague whose personality or work style differed from yours.

Working well with others of diverse backgrounds, communication styles and personalities is important in nearly every job. This question lets the candidate discuss their teamwork, interpersonal and problem-solving skills, including how they compromise, communicate and collaborate to achieve a goal or task. It can also provide deeper insight into their personality and work style.

Role-specific interview questions

Effective interview questions should also assess qualifications specific to the role. These are some examples of questions for specific jobs:

14. How do you prioritize your sales leads? (Sales Representative)

15. Can you walk me through the process of preparing a data set for analysis? (Data Analyst)

16. How do you determine project deadlines and manage scheduling conflicts? (Project Manager)

17. Can you describe a time when you had to meet tight deadlines and how you managed to deliver on time? (Administrative Assistant)

18. How do you ensure the content you produce aligns with the brand’s voice and goals? (Content Writer)

19. What steps do you take to ensure your team follows safety protocols in the workplace? (Warehouse Manager)

20. How do you handle multiple customer orders during busy shifts without compromising service quality? (Server)

For more role-specific interview questions, explore our interview questions by title and skill.

FAQs about the best interview questions to ask

How can I ensure interview questions are inclusive?

To create an inclusive interview process, consider the following:

• Using gender-neutral language and considering culturally sensitive terms

• Offering accessible hiring materials, such as introductory videos with closed captions

How else can I improve the interview process?

Using a virtual interview platform like Indeed Interview can facilitate the interview process. With Indeed Interview, employers can easily set up virtual interviews, providing a convenient and effective way to connect with potential candidates. The platform offers advanced scheduling options, automated reminders for the interviewer and interviewee and the flexibility to interview via video or phone.